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Post by catchumall on Sept 16, 2016 13:55:08 GMT -5
Anyone recall an "AMW"-type fugitive hunt series that aired in syndication for one season in the mid-1990s. I remember the show aired on Saturday afternoons in my local city but there wasn't a website for the show and there are no reruns to view online.
The series was hosted and produced by Mike Hegedus, who had worked as a news reporter for KPIX CBS affiliate in San Francisco before the series premiered, and later worked for CNBC. The series profiled wanted fugitives in each half hour show using news footage and reinactments. Viewers can contact the show by a toll-free phone number with tips.
One case I remember had profiled actor Joel Kenney, who starred in the Walt Disney film "Midnight Madness" in 1980, who was wanted for child molestation. An online search revealed Kenney was arrested years after the Prime Suspect show ended and was serving time in prison.
I think AMW and the Prime Suspect show profiled a few of the same fugitives but I'm not sure. Anyone remember other details? |
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Post by Scumhunter on Sept 16, 2016 18:30:47 GMT -5
I never saw it but remember hearing about this show as a sort of America's Most Wanted imitation. There was also another show called Missing: Reward that was sort of similar but focused on missing children and known abductors.
My guess it wasn't very successful (ratings-wise, not to say it wasn't a good show) and perhaps there were other AMW imitators, but AMW was in a league of it's own.
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Post by catchumall on Sept 16, 2016 18:50:42 GMT -5
True. Having a prime-time network time slot and backing to provide for the phone hotline and the staff to jot down the tips and having actual law enforcement personnel assigned to the cases profiled on the show's broadcast on camera helped in "AMW's" and "Unsolved Mysteries'". Of course, John Walsh's sincerity, conviction, and enduring tragedy himself add integrity to whatever project he is involved in.
"Prime Suspect" mostly had Host Hegedus in a studio set introducing and narrating the various fugitive profiles. Not sure if he interacted with any law enforcement officials connected with the cases or with the crime victim's relatives and acquaintances much. Very low budget show. Syndicated programs shown at varied times and days across the US can be difficult to attract a wide consistent audience and to keep the cases at a high profile level as well. Valiant attempt, though.
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Post by TheWebDetective on Apr 22, 2017 9:36:31 GMT -5
So far, I only found this video of it on YouTube.
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Post by Scumhunter on Apr 22, 2017 9:42:49 GMT -5
Second suspect looked a little like Lance Bedgood but not even 80 percent sure
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Post by severin on May 2, 2017 13:45:56 GMT -5
I never saw it but remember hearing about this show as a sort of America's Most Wanted imitation. There was also another show called Missing: Reward that was sort of similar but focused on missing children and known abductors. My guess it wasn't very successful (ratings-wise, not to say it wasn't a good show) and perhaps there were other AMW imitators, but AMW was in a league of it's own.
I remember Missing: Reward. It ran in syndication from 1989 to 1992. Although I wasn't a regular viewer of the series, I watched it nonetheless. One of the distinctions between that show and others like AMW and Unsolved Mysteries was that it had a 900 number for which viewers were charged, as opposed to a toll-free 800 number.
Speaking of AMW imitators, there was a syndicated show called Crime Stoppers 800, which aired from 1989 to 1991. The show itself offered possible rewards for information leading to the arrest of a fugitive. In addition to wanted fugitives, the series profiled unsolved homicides. The reenactments were shot on video, just like the early AMW reenactments.
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Post by Scumhunter on May 2, 2017 14:21:01 GMT -5
I think it's pretty messed up and perhaps a sign of why the didn't show didn't last that a viewer who could potentially helped was CHARGED MONEY to do so. It's the complete opposite of how things should be.
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Post by severin on May 2, 2017 18:30:39 GMT -5
I think it's pretty messed up and perhaps a sign of why the didn't show didn't last that a viewer who could potentially helped was CHARGED MONEY to do so. It's the complete opposite of how things should be. I agree. The 900 number must have been discouraging. If a toll-free number had been used for Missing: Reward, maybe the show would have had a better chance at lasting longer than it did. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. |
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Post by HeadMarshal on Jul 4, 2018 13:26:50 GMT -5
Actually found a commercial compilation video that contains the first few minutes of the October 31, 1992 episode of Prime Suspect at the end. The lead case was that of at the time, FBI 10 Most Wanted fugitive Robert Michael Allen whose skeletal remains were later found a few months later. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XxUcQ-gkEE |
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Post by catchumall on Sept 5, 2018 15:46:55 GMT -5
Also a profile of Roman Polanski's statutory rape case in the same program in keeping with the Hollywood theme of the episode. |
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